I was being 'trolled' at work by a co-worker the other day about my trifling concerns over automobile culture. Others 'troll' me too.
I proudly tell people I drive at or under the speed limit. They get angry at me. They remind me there are laws against it for the passing lane.
I express my muted support for the current emphasis on bike lanes and Cleveland's new bike share program, mentioning how I see more people riding on sidewalks and other crazy shit (because our streets are dangerous for seasoned cyclists let alone amateurs.)
This is taken as an opening by my conversation partner about "how those fucking cyclists almost made them kill someone."
That's ok, I do some goading myself. This is a constant hazard of having concerns and opinions.
As it sometimes proceeds to a more heated, (but still well controlled) exchange of views, the fact that I still own a car and other personal hypocrisies such as accepting the occasional ride, or taking a driving trip for vacation are used against me.
These contradictions merely confirm that we all are overly dependent on automobile culture, including me. I'm fortunate though. Many simply cannot live without an automobile.
This dependency is by design. What once was a privilege for rich people quickly became a dependency for all as the rich knew that promoting automobile ownership as personalized freedom via mechanical speed and power would mitigate the charges of privilege leveled against them.
Slow, underpowered electric vehicles should serve anyone's needs. Think of all the airbag technology and anti-pollution controls we could stop wasting money on if we had small slow electric vehicles carrying things for us. We already do.
I bought my last, fuel efficient car new in 2006. It now has 45K miles nine years later. I believe I have put on less than 10K since I re-arranged my personal geography, (80% of my life is within 5 miles,) and found the pedestrian and cyclist religion full-time. Now the car suffers from problems of dis-use. I had cobwebs in my brake drums which were causing issues.
Still, it isn't easy, and I'm a median-income suburban-raised white guy. I'm up against a formidable, entrenched culture; one filled with corporate-lobbied defensiveness , aggression, and protectionism. Yes, I do wish I could get rid of it. I probably could if I gave up my hobbies. My hobbies are social and involve other people, all with their own schedules, geographies and car dependency.
Mass transit gets worse and worse, suffering under funding for personal vehicle infrastructure and outright corporate aggression. I'm 50 years old. I walk to work everyday in winter, half the time I ride by bicycle the rest of the year. My left knee is fucked up. My overcompensating right foot has plantar fasciitis. It always hurts.
People born between 1930 and 1980 are the "Incorrigibles." They will never give up their living room on wheels. I am solidly in this demographic, hence the slings and arrows.
It's expensive. AAA themselves estimate a car owner spends an average of $9-10,000 per year to own an automobile.
I have NEVER seen sticker prices or any other costs decrease. They never will, regardless of the fuel system of your personal, mechanical vehicle. Bicycle costs don't decrease either, but they're vastly less.
We serve the culture. My charges of automobile slavery are not hyperbole.
Consider this report by Morgan Stanley:
The Incredible Wastefulness of Car Ownership
Mobility as a service is coming slowly: Mass Transit, Car and Bicycle Sharing, Renting, Chauffeur Service, Etc:
The era of internal combustion assholery is coming to an end by hook or by crook. A combination of personal cost, liability, and failing infrastructure will do it. Electric powered, Tesla-car assholery will take its place for a while: a partial victory for the environment, until we run out of space for battery disposal.
My peers say I 'hate cars.' No. The culture of environmental and social destruction, violence as entertainment, and legalized 'manslaughter-as-accidents' is what I hate.
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